


Once, We Were Living

by DipStick45



Category: Trollhunters - Daniel Kraus & Guillermo del Toro
Genre: AU, Alternate Universe - Science Fiction, Angst, Character Death, F/M, Falling In Love, Fanfiction, Fiction, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Jim is a hard nut to crack, Jim is not a troll, Love, Love Confessions, Original Character Death(s), Original Character(s), Post-Season 3 (Trollhunters), Science Fiction, Zombie Apocalypse, apocolypse, jimxclaire, jlaire, no trolls in this story, trollhunters - Freeform, we love a good angst story
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-26
Updated: 2019-06-07
Packaged: 2019-12-18 12:10:47
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 12,380
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18249575
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DipStick45/pseuds/DipStick45
Summary: The world - as Claire Nuñez once knew it - has fallen. A disease has outbroken across the land, turning those whom it contaminated into walkers; zombies. When Claire's family is contaminated, she is forced to leave her home and venture out into the wilderness on her own, in hopes that she can remain alive for the sake of others.She somehow bumps into her savior - James Lake Junior, who she later discovers has dedicated his life to rescuing people from the clutches of the disease. But just like her, Jim too has a dark past - one he doesn't particularly like to share.But as Claire finds herself growing closer to Jim than anyone else, she realizes her feelings towards him might not be entirely platonic. Their story will transpire - through deceptions, lies, hurt and love - and together, Jim and Claire will learn how to survive, not for the sake of others, but for each other.





	1. "Once, We Were Living" short story

**Author's Note:**

> Welcome to "Once, We Were Living"!
> 
> Before you continue, here are a few things you should know first. This story is originally meant to have many chapters - however, the first chapter will begin with a summarized 5000 word 'short story', basically of the story that I used for a contest. Things here and there were picked out for the short story, so therefore, a lot won't be explained until you begin reading the actual chapters. I hope that you still choose to read this nonetheless :)
> 
>  
> 
> Even though there are warnings mentioned before you click on this book, I am writing them out more elaborately so you know what to expect. please do not skip over these!
> 
>  
> 
> WARNING. Please be aware that this story will contain events such as character death, violence, explicit scenes - such as intercourse between characters and child birth - along with vulgar comments regarding sex and/or the belittlement towards certain female characters. Other warnings include: gruesome and gory events such as stabbing, shooting, piercing of the skin etc. and fowl language in dialogue. Please read at your own risk. 
> 
>  
> 
> Anyway, thank you for your interest in this book and for reading through that! I hope you enjoy "Once, We Were Living" :)

It was exactly midnight when she heard the first crash.

Claire awoke abruptly, startled into an upright position, when a loud crash occurred downstairs in the middle of the night. It almost sounded as if a person had been blindly walking through the dark and had tripped over a piece of furniture. She would have considered it normal if her little brother, Enrique, had once again wandered into their parent's bedroom. It happened almost every night; a repeating occurrence that soon became a habit. 

Claire rubbed her eyes tiredly, figuring the noise must've been caused by him.

Yawning, Claire blindly reached over her nightstand in search for her phone. When her fingers brushed against the cool device, she lifted it to her face, wincing when the light from her screen temporarily blinded her. She searched for the time, groaning when she realized it was in the middle of the night.

She threw her phone to the side. Shrugging it off, Claire chose to ignore the obvious noise downstairs. 

She was awoken again from her dazed state when another crash occurred, this time a lot louder than the last. Claire was sitting upright in the blink of an eye, sleep long gone from her mind as her heart began to beat erratically. Her eyes remained concentrated on her bedroom door.

She found herself hesitantly sliding out from underneath the covers.

Carefully approaching her bedroom door, Claire now contemplated on what could've caused such a startling noise. It was less likely that her little brother had come upstairs to cause noise; he usually never came searching for her in the middle of the night.

She made the right decision in locking her door that night.

Claire didn't know why, but a nagging feeling in the pit of her stomach had insisted she lock it. For more precautious measures, she even went as far as to moving her bookshelf in front of the door, in case the cause of the noise was far more threatening than she anticipated. 

She then snatched her phone off her bed, deciding to dial her mother's phone number. 

Claire didn't expect either of her parents to still be asleep after hearing such a noise, twice.

She lowered the device from her ear the moment it went straight to voicemail. 

Somewhat worried, Claire tried her father's cell next, and after a few rings, it too went straight to voicemail. Since it had previously rung, however, Claire decided to dial it again.

The second time however, after two rings, someone did pick up.

But it wasn't her father who had answered the call.

"C-Claire?"

"Enrique?" Claire's breath hitched in her throat as she pressed the device closer into her cheek. Upon hearing her seven-year-old brother on the other end of the line, she felt her anxiety rising by the second. "What are you doing up so late? And where's Papa?"

But both of her questions were left unanswered. 

"Claire... something's wrong." Her little brother's voice was barely over a whisper, and she could sense that he was trembling behind every word he spoke. "M-Mama and Papa are acting really weird."

She raised a brow. "What do you mean they're acting weird?"

Over the line, her brother let out a shaky breath. "I-I-I had a nightmare, so I wanted to sleep with Mama. But when I tried to wake her up, she reached over to turn on her lamp, and I-I think she c-cut her hand..." She then heard another thump, in which Enrique reacted to with a slight whimper. "...a-and then she did something to P-Papa too, and then h-he started acting really... weird."

Claire's brows furrowed together as she listened to her brother, trying to comprehend every word he was telling her. She didn't understand any of it, nor if her parents were okay, and she was beginning to grow more worried the more her brother continued to tremble. 

Nothing about this situation seemed right.

Taking a lighter approach, Claire first asked, "Is Mama okay?"

"I-I don't know," He whimpered in response. "She started making weird noises, and then Papa started making those noises too, so I got scared and ran into their bathroom."

"What kind of noises?" Claire pressed urgently. When her brother didn't answer right away, she found herself clutching the phone tighter in her palm, pressing it closer into her cheek. "What noise, Enrique?!"

"I don't know!" He wailed, the action clearly a mistake when another loud thump occurred, startling even her from the other end. This time, Enrique's whimper sounded more urgent, and Claire listened closely to the sounds of shuffling, as if her brother was attempting to escape from the sound.

"Claire..."

"I'm still here, buddy." She said softly. "I'm still here. Tell me what's going on."

He shuffled some more, the sound of clothing and skin rubbing with the pants of her brother's ragged breath setting her on edge. Her own breath grew more erratic as she listened to his quick breaths through the line, inwardly praying that he was safe in her parent's bathroom.

But how long would that last him?

When he didn't answer her, Claire pressed for more. "Enrique, talk to me. Is there any way for you to make it upstairs?"

Another thump occurred, this time so intense that Claire had to pull her ear away from the device. A few more followed afterwards, leaving her brother's frightened yelps to be the only response she received in return. She found herself grasping the device tighter in her palm, almost afraid that if she gripped it any tighter, it might burst into a million pieces in her grasp. 

"N-No..." Her brother's voice trembled. "I-I think I-I'm trapped."

She didn't want to believe that he could be right. There was a small window located in her parents' bathroom - at a height that was beyond his reach - but maybe... just maybe...

"Claire... I-I'm scared."

She went to respond, lips parted to assure him that everything would be okay. But her words were left unsaid the moment another loud crash occurred, this time filling in the receiver and drowning out her brother's desperate screams. The noise almost sounded as if someone had been successful in pounding down the door or as if her brother had fallen back into the shower to escape the madness. She couldn't tell which it was. Claire listened desperately as the sounds of what assumed were a struggle occurred. Enrique screamed again; his cries desperate and alarming; panic shooting through her veins.

Claire's voice caught in her throat.

"Enrique?!" She cried through the line, listening with terror as her brother's screams intensified. It wasn't long before his cries had vanished, mixed into an uncomfortable silence that fell on the other end. She pulled the device closer to her ear, desperate for his response. "Enrique! Are you still there?! Please answer me, bud!"

But the line went dead shortly afterwards, leaving Claire to choke back a sob.

That was the last time she heard her brother's voice.

When the sun arose the next morning, Claire found no motivation to get out of bed. In fact, she found that her lack of knowledge for what day it was... or rather, how long she had been mourning over the loss of her brother was affecting her health. 

Mornings and nights passed while she laid in bed; tears unable to be controlled as they slipped down her cheeks, soaking her pillow. The noises had yet to cease, and sleep had become almost impossible.

It wasn't until one morning, when her phone began to ring, did Claire decide to get up from bed.

She reached over for her phone where she had last left it; the caller ID clearly reading an all too familiar name.

Her boyfriend's name.

Claire quickly answered the call. "Jonas..."

"Claire!" Jonas' voice rung out, clearly relieved to hear his girlfriend's voice. "God, you don't know how happy I am to hear from you. Have you seen the news recently?"

Her attention turned to the small, boxed tv that sat in the corner of her room; a project she had been planning to put back together with her father over the break that summer. Her stomach churned at the thought; a reminder that she would never be able to do that with him now.

"I... I haven't..." Claire croaked out, exhausted from her lack of sleep. "What's going on?"

"There's some kind of disease spreading, and it's spreading fast." Jonas says, his voice urgent. "They're advising people to head to the hospital or to stay indoors. Where are you? My family and I are heading to the hospital today; it would make me feel a whole lot better if you came with me."

As she listened to her boyfriend's words, Claire found that her silent tears were threatening to overflow again. "I-I can't. I'm trapped."

She heard a sharp intake of breath through the line. "What do you mean trapped? Are you okay?"

"N-No..." She trembled. 'I-I think my parents my have gotten the disease, and my brother..."

Claire choked back another sob, willing to keep herself composed. She wouldn't cry; not now; not while she was on the phone with her boyfriend, who was clearly already worried for her sake.

"What happened to your brother?" He urged.

Claire squeezed her eyes shut. Was this what her brother must've felt like when he was on the phone with her? When her diseased parents pounded on the bathroom door and he knew he had absolutely no chance of escaping? Her seven-year-old brother who didn't deserve to lose his life in such a tragic situation and had done nothing wrong to deserve such a fate. Why couldn't it have been her life taken instead of his? He had so much more to live for than she did.

"He's... he's gone." She whispered out in response.

Jonas was quick to assure her that everything would be okay over the phone after she had explained everything to him. Claire listened as he poured out his love and affection for her, cried alongside her at the loss of her brother, and promised her that he would come to her rescue. She never wanted their call to end that night, but Jonas had assured her that it wouldn't be the last time she would hear his voice.

He ended the call, his last words promising that he would come for her.

But it was all just an empty promise.

That was the last time she heard her boyfriend's voice.

She waited a few days for him to rescue her. But after watching the moon set and the sun rise repeatedly with no hope, Claire decided that he would never come.

The truth of the matter was - the disease was spreading, and no one knew how or what could stop it. Claire had taken the courage to look up the world news on her phone, easily finding the report of the disease that seemed to be spreading across the globe like a wild fire. 

She decided in that moment that she could no longer stay there.

She stood to her feet, quickly rushing to gather as many articles of clothing as she could carry and stuffed them into her backpack. She then packed a few other necessities, even packing an old pocket knife her father had given her a few years ago, and a few other belongings she felt she needed. Even a few things she couldn't bare to leave behind she stuffed in her bag.

One of the things being a framed picture of her and her brother. 

Claire reached for her charger and phone next, hurriedly stuffing them inside of her backpack. Her eyes scanned the bedroom, looking for anything else important she might need before she left.

Her attention quickly sidetracked to food the moment her stomach rumbled.

With one arm, Claire clutched her stomach, the pain greatly uncomfortable. With the other, she opened her bedroom window, taking one last sweep of her vacant bedroom.

Then, inhaling a deep breath, Claire carefully climbed down the side of her house.

Claire's first encounter with the world's obvious change had been a dreadful one, at that.

In all truth, she didn't know the cause for her parents' rogue behavior or her brother's death. She later discovered that a disease took apart in changing them, but she still didn't understand how they had caught it, or why it was making people go insane - driving even her own parents to murder their own son.

She shivered at the thought.

Claire had been trekking through the forest for a few hours at most when it happened. She'd been oblivious to the danger laid out before her when she noticed a figure standing ahead of her in the distance, mindlessly still and physically unmoving. She didn't think much of it at first; her desire for food and water driving her to make rash decisions without even thinking.

Claire wistfully approached the stranger. 

But that had been a mistake. Once the stranger noticed her presence, it was quick to turn around, and what Claire saw afterwards and her gasping behind her hands. What stood a far distance away from her was a person, but this person was barely recognizable as a living human being. Its face was morphed into a disgusting shape; almost as if it'd been melted off by the heat of a mass fire, and its jaw looked dislocated, dangling over to reveal the creature's ugly teeth. Even its eyes were coated over in a white, ghostly color, as if the creature no longer bore a soul from within. 

It took everything in her power not to scream.

It stared at her for a matter of seconds before it began approaching her, limping and dragging one of its feet across the dirt. Claire scrambled to get away from it, her panic increasing when she heard the creature snarl and moan from behind her. Unwilling to look back, Claire ran between the trees as fast as she could. It seemed the faster she ran, the closer the creature crept towards her. It was relentless; snarling and only out for one thing: blood.

Her thoughts somehow reverted back to her family - is this what her parents had become?

She tried not to think about her parents turning into such a disturbing creature. Out of breath, Claire found herself pausing to lean against a massive tree trunk, the creature miraculously able to keep up. It approached her slow and steady, and Claire realized that she no longer had enough energy to evade it.

Maybe this was it for her.

She squeezed her eyes shut, praying her death would be quickly made if so.

Until suddenly, the piercing sound of something wisped through the air, alarming her. Claire opened her eyes; unfortunate to watch as an arrow streaked over her head and through the air, puncturing straight into the creature's heart. She watched, horrified, as the corpse collapsed to the ground only a few feet away from her.

Claire heaved, but nothing came up.

She turned around to see where the arrow had come from. And alas, she noticed another figure behind her dressed in an all camo suit with a bow in hand, a read bandana covering his mouth and nose from her view. The only thing she could make out was the figure's eyes - _his blue, electrifying eyes_ \- and she was relieved to see that the stranger's eyes were perfectly normal. 

As she scrambled towards the stranger, Claire also noticed his dark colored hair which draped over his eyes. He wore a dark expression and his stance was tense while he waited her approach, but he made no moves to evade her.

Claire fell at his booted feet, exhausted and desperate.

"Please," She stresses, pleading eyes lifted to meet his. "I-I need your help."

The figure tilted his head slightly, studying her closely as he knelt to her level. He swung his bow over on his back and wordlessly grasped the crook of her elbow to pull her up. She gripped onto his forearms for support, and when she stood once again on her own two feet, Claire stumbled into his chest.

Despite that he was a stranger to her, Claire no longer had enough energy to sustain herself. She needed food; she needed water; and most importantly, she needed sleep.

And he seemed to sense that.

The figure gently wrapped his arms around her middle, using one to support her back and the other to hook under her knees. With a grunt, he easily lifted her off the ground. Claire immediately drew closer into his chest, closing her eyes. The sound of the stranger's heartbeat against her ear seemed to be the only comforting sound she had heard in days, and as he carried her, she found herself drifting off into the realm of sleep.

Claire awoke with a start, lurching forward into an upright position. She instantly realized the darkened sky around her, indicating that night had fallen upon the earth. Her current position too was quite a surprise. As she studied her surroundings, Claire found that she now laid wrapped in layers of furs to protect her from the sudden chill that had come with the darkness. In front of her, a fire had been built, the only source of light and warmth in the emptiness of the forest. Across the orange flames, she noticed the same figure who had rescued her from the creature, his elbows rested on his knees as he sat on top of a log. In his hands he held a knife and one of his arrows, carving the tip to make a sharper point.

For some reason, the sight had her gulping nervously. 

And although she hadn't made a single sound, the action seemed to catch his attention. He quickly looked up to meet her gaze, their eyes locking through the orange flames of the fire. The silence stretched out for so long that she could have sworn it went on for a century. She wanted to thank him for saving her life, and to even ask him if he wouldn't mind her tagging along, but her thoughts were disregarded the moment he straightened his posture and lowered his bandana to hang around his neck.

His expression remained emotionless. He didn't twitch; he didn't smile; he didn't even look at her softly. His gaze was chilling; intense, as he asked her if she was hungry, and as if on cue, her stomach growled loudly in response.

She smiled sheepishly. "Uh... yes... sorry. I haven't eaten in a week."

He raised a brow. "A week? How are you still alive?"

Claire shrugged, wrapping her arms protectively around her abdomen. "I...I'm not sure actually. I've been living in my bedroom until recently, but then I realized I couldn't stay there anymore. My parents were downstairs, and y'know..."

She didn't want to go into details; explaining that her parents had caught the disease and had changed was still a sore topic. She was sure he understood, considering he had killed the creature who'd been chasing her on the spot.

He waved a hand - a sign for her not to elaborate. "Yeah, I get it."

And as it turned out, he seemed to understand a lot more than he let on. He may have never mentioned it aloud, but Claire could see it in his eyes. Whenever she would find herself telling him stories about her parents or her brother, he would listen, but the look in his eyes proved that he too was hurting from a similar loss. When she once tried to ask him about his story, he'd been quick to change the subject in a matter of seconds.

He wasn't a talker - she was beginning to learn- but as the weeks went on, he began to grow more comfortable around her.

They'd been trekking through the woods one morning when he threw her a look over his shoulder, smiling softly a she said, "My name's Jim by the way, in case you were wondering."

She was surprised to say the least, quirking a brow in his direction. He chuckled when he caught her expression, shaking his head as he turned forward once more and she couldn't help but return the smile, rushing forward to follow his pace. 

That was the first time they shared a laugh.

Unfortunately, their first problem arose when Claire discovered that Jim wasn't alone.

They'd been travelling for over a week together when Jim finally reached his destination, and who was there to greet him on his return baffled Claire. He had never once shared any piece of his life with her before, but she had always assumed that he'd been surviving on his own. So, when five teenagers around their age all came rushing to greet him - their expressions racked heavily with sadness and concern - she was somewhat frightened and reached out for Jim's forearm, cowering from their view. 

Jim's expression was serious as he met each of their gazes, his frown deepening. "What happened?"

No one had to say anything to know that something was wrong. Claire watched from behind Jim as one of the boys stepped forward, his untamed blonde locks brushing over his eyes. "It's Will." He says, voice rasped. "He's gone."

Jim reacted immediately, wordlessly striding towards the building in which Claire assumed they all lived in. She watched as the rest of his friends split apart, allowing him to pass through, and Claire followed Jim like a lost puppy, her grip only tightening around his arm.

He didn't seem to mind it though.

Jim let her follow him until they reached the building. For a second he stood in front of the metal door, unmoving, almost as if he was struggling to enter inside, and then, he was pulling himself away from her hold and removing his bow off his back. Claire wrapped her arms around herself, watching hesitantly as Jim's friends reappeared around the scene, each watching with a heartbroken look in their eyes.

Claire didn't understand why they were all so distraught, until Jim opened the door.

Behind the metal bars of a prison like structure stood a figure; a walker to be exact. It snarled the moment the sun flooded into the room, and its growls intensified when it noticed Jim's presence. It stretched out its infected arms through the bars, as if trying to reach out for him. 

Jim didn't once flinch at the sight.

Instead he stared, paused, and then turned to look over his shoulder. "How did this happen?"

The blonde was the one to reply. "We were out hunting, and he accidentally got his foot caught in an old bear trap. By the time we were able to remove it, it'd been too late."

Jim nodded curtly, and then demanded that everyone leave him to his lonesome. The rest of his friends stepped back, intending to give Jim his required space, but Claire found herself glued to her spot as she watched the walker - their once faithful comrade, and friend - snarl at them in return.

It wasn't until she felt a hand slip into hers did she realize she'd frozen in her spot.

Claire looked up to catch the gaze of the person who had grabbed her hand, only to meet a pair of green, gentle eyes staring right back at her. The boy in question offered her a gentle smile, his auburn hair being the first thing that caught her attention. Wordlessly, Claire allowed him to pull her back from the scene.

But she didn't miss the silhouette of Jim's figure, lifting his bow and pulling the arrow back.

Before he released it, without hesitation.

Everything was silent - except for the sound of Jim's arrow whisking through the air.

The snarling stopped for good shortly afterwards. 

Later that night, Claire found Jim perched up in a nearby oak tree, keeping watch over the rest of his friends while they all huddled around a campfire, roasting the supper they had just gone out to catch. 

Even as she climbed up the tree to join him, he hadn't acknowledged her presence right away. She placed a gentle touch to forearm, which caught his attention immediately. He craned his neck to the left to look at her, his expression still emotionless as ever. 

She offered him a gentle smile. "Are you okay?"

He shrugged. "Sure. Why wouldn't I be?"

"C'mon Jim," she shot him an unconvinced look, moving closer into his side. "I know we haven't known each other for that long... but today I watched you kill someone who I'm pretty sure used to be your friend."

The only response she received in return was another shrug.

Claire's frown deepened. "I'm sure that wasn't easy to do."

And when she only received silence in return, Claire decided not to press it any further. Instead, she leaned her head against his shoulder - since they had gotten closer over the past few weeks, it wasn't unnatural for her to draw close to him, and he never minded it. Jim let her snuggle into his side, his emotionless expression still trained on the night sky above them.

She watched him - and not in a way that would have made one uncomfortable, but in a way where she could _admire_ him. Through the span of only knowing Jim for a few weeks, feelings for him as more than just a friend began to transpire. 

But to even consider a relationship during such a crisis was ridiculous; selfish even.

She found herself asking him nonetheless. "This might be kind of random... but what's your opinion on relationships in a time like this?"

This seemed to pique his interest. He turned to look at her, a single brow raised as he contemplated her question. "A bad idea. Why?"

If her disappointment was noticeable, she prayed he hadn't noticed it. Instead, Claire pulled her head away from his shoulder and shook it, feeling as if she had just embarrassed herself. "Nothing. Just forget I asked."

She was surprised to say the least when he nudged her arm, now intrigued. "No. You've obviously got something on your mind. What is it?"

"Well..." She shifted uncomfortably, her hands pressed together in her lap while she contemplated on whether she should be honest with him regarding her feelings. As much as she wanted to tell him, Claire felt as if it would be too soon, considering they hadn't known each other for very long - plus, losing each other would be too much of a risk factor. In a quick split-second decision, she decided not to tell him. "...before all of this happened, I had a boyfriend. And when I lost my family, he promised me that he would come for me. But he never did."

Jim scrunched up his nose in disgust. "Some knight in shining armor."

"Yeah, no kidding." Claire agreed, frown prominent. "I relied on him, and he let me down. I know relationships should be the last thing on my mind right now, but I was hoping I'd have someone special to spend my life with."

The only response she got from Jim in return was a thoughtful hum.

She peered over to look at him. "What do you think?"

He did the same, catching her gaze. "I think this life - if you can even call it that - isn't worth living. Even by yourself."

"Maybe," Claire countered, just as she watched him cast his eyes away. "But wouldn't it be better to share it with someone?"

Jim was never one to get emotional, or typically angry, but when he turned to catch her eyes again, she found fury behind his eyes. "And what would you share? The head of a walker you killed on the spot?"

Claire frowned, his sarcasm not very appealing. "Not funny."

"And I'm not laughing." He shot back. "This world has changed people, Claire. The only reason some of us are still breathing is because we choose to survive. There's a difference between surviving and living."

Her eyebrows came together in frustration. If only Jim could understand what she was subtly trying to get across. "Then what's the point of surviving if you have nothing else to live for?"

Now that seemed to shut him up. He opened his mouth to respond and then shut it again. As he tried to formulate some sort of answer, Claire took another leap of bravery and reached out for his hand. Jim looked down, surprised when her fingers interwove with his. "I still have something to live for." 

He watched her; surprised and astonished. "You do?"

Claire nodded, bringing herself closer to his side once more. Jim watched intensively as she leaned her head against his shoulder again, mumbling out in a light whisper, "I'm living for love."

She could feel his pierced gaze studying her closely, even as her eyes fluttered closed. In the distance, she could make out the faint laughter of his friends down at the fire, and the stars were the only other thing that lit up the night - serving as some sort of hope for the remaining survivors of the disease. If she had still be a child then, she would've made a wish to change such a terrible outcome.

But then, that would've prevented her from meeting Jim.

Claire's eyes instantly fluttered open again when she felt Jim's gentle touch tuck a piece of hair behind her ear, and she lifted her head when his fingers curled underneath her chin, pulling her to look up at him. She stilled; eyes widened as she watched him closely. For the second time during the span she'd known him, Jim smiled warmly at her. He suddenly leaned forward.

It was exactly midnight when Jim pressed his lips to hers.

 

 

 

 

 


	2. Odd

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Claire is reminded the importance of looking on the inside instead of judging a book by it's cover.
> 
> But that's a hard thing to do when you believe the guy you hate is an open book, and from what she sees, the content of Jim Lake's book is filled with nothing but disappointment, disgust and pride. In other words, a book not worth reading.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone! Finally, the first chapter is out! It's taken a while, and I spent a LOT of time trying to prefect this, so hopefully you enjoy. Also... in case any of you are wondering about the short story that was published before this, it reached FIFTH place out of THIRTY contestants in the contest that my friend submitted it into. He didn't win any prize money, but I was still so surprised that it made it so high in the contest. Anyway, enjoy the first chapter and I hope that it was worth the wait.

The atmosphere felt completely _odd_ as she stood there, debating on whether she should even approach the group of football jocks who had just returned from their practice out on the field. Even in their current, sweaty predicament, Claire couldn’t help but stare as the boys gathered around each other and laughed, towels slung over their bare shoulders and cool sodas clutched in their palms. She wondered how they even kept up with their lives and their reputations and refraining from admiring them all at once was almost impossible.

She found herself cowering behind her locker door as one of the boys looked over – _the one whom she hadn’t been ogling over_ – and noticed her staring, flashing her a genuine, soft smile. She only knew him by his last name from what she’d seen on his jersey, but the boy “Lake”, as she knew him, wasn’t exactly in her best interest. He was tall, lean, _definitely sexy,_ and was one of the best players on the team, but she would never admit that to his face. Lake had quite the reputation when it came to the opposite sex, meaning his relationships never lasted very long, and she knew better than to throw herself into his line of vision.

_He was a player_ , and he seemed to play more than just football in his free time.

“I don’t know what’s stopping you from talking to him,” Mary, her best and trusted friend, had said during their lunch period one day. Claire had been caught staring over at the jocks table again, ogling over her longtime crush, in which Mary always felt the need to tease her about.

“ _Everything’s_ stopping me from talking to him,” Claire had remarked.

“You don’t see it stopping me,” Mary giggled, midbite into her apple. “Just go and talk to him already.”

The advice of the century, and yet, Claire always found herself glued in her spot whenever they were near. It bothered her that she could be so confident in everything else – making good marks, making new friends, presenting speeches in front of _hundreds_ of students – but when it came time to talk to the boy she liked, she froze midway and never went through with approaching him.

It was the most embarrassing thing ever, and Claire _hated_ feeling embarrassed.

“Claire, as much as I love you, this has got to stop.” Mary said as soon as she noticed her best friend cowering behind her locker door. She approached her side and placed a hand to her shoulder, gesturing to the group of boys who still stood only a few feet away. “ _They’re literally right there._ A few paces and you’ll be standing right next to _him._ Just go and talk to him already!”

“Easy for you to say,” Claire grumbled. “you are way more confident than I am when it comes to stuff like this, and besides, you don’t have an issue with guys _not_ noticing you.”

“And you do?” Mary playfully scoffed in return. “Because it looks to me as if football rooky over there can’t keep his eyes off of you.”

And as much as Claire wished it wasn’t true, Mary was right. Lake, whenever he had a chance, made it his personal mission to keep tabs on her – at least, that’s what she believed. Whether it was with his eyes, his body movements, or even with his facial expressions, he made it pretty obvious that he was interested in her. But that meant absolutely nothing to Claire. He was a player, and the fact that he found her attractive wasn’t anything special. He found many girls in their school attractive.

But he was never serious about any of them.

“I’ve already told you a hundred times that I don’t like him, Mar.” Claire said, turning to look at her friend with an exasperated glare. “I don’t know why you’re so insistent on hooking us up.”

“Um… hello? Because he’s _hot,_ ” Mary said, as if that reason was explanatory enough. “He’s probably the hottest out of them all, and the fact that you want absolutely nothing to do with him, when you _clearly_ have a chance, blows my mind!”

Claire scoffed to that and rolled her eyes. “Oh yeah? And how long do you think that chance will last? A week? Maybe two?”

“ _Claire,_ ” her voice sounded almost scolding, and Mary had to refrain from rolling her eyes at her best friend. She grabbed her shoulders, forcing her stubborn friend to look at her. “You don’t even know anything about him. You just go off from what you’ve heard; what other _girls_ have said about him. He could be a really great guy and you wouldn’t even know because you’re to busy _judging_ him instead of _getting to know_ him.”

“What if I don’t want to get to know him?” Claire retorted, almost pathetically.

“Yet you want to get to know Jonas Henderson,” an unimpressed expression fell across Mary’s face, and she rolled her eyes, disbelieved with her friend’s reasoning. “A guy who’s also apart of that group of boys over there. What if he’s a player too?”

Claire’s gaze wandered over towards the boys again where she caught onto the sight of Jonas interacting with his group of friends, a wide smile dancing across his lips as he laughed. She found herself smiling as she watched him.

Jonas was just too _perfect_ in her mind to be considered bad.

There probably wasn’t a single bad bone in his body.

And besides, there wasn’t word being spread about _him_ being a player.

“He’s not.”

Mary simply raised a disbelieved brow. “And how are you so sure?”

“Because Mary, unlike Lake, Jonas doesn’t pick up a new girl every three days.” Claire says, turning to meet her friend’s eyes again. “He’s only had two serious relationships, and those girls haven’t gone talking bad about him behind his back.”

Mary simply shrugged, releasing her friend’s shoulders. “I’m just saying… there really isn’t a difference between the two of them. The only difference really is that one guy _sees_ you, and the other doesn’t even know you exist.”

That was a jab straight into the heart, and Claire frowned heavily at her friend. Of course, Mary was yet again right. It was true that she was the last thing on Jonas’ radar – _if she’d ever been on his line of vision at all_ – and it was even possible that he had absolutely no idea who she was. It hurt, because there was always a possibility for Claire to change that. All she had to do was step out from behind her locker, take about twenty paces in their direction, and introduce herself to the boy of her dreams.

But instead, her feet stayed glued to the floor, which only left her with one other option.

_Staring._

Mary could only sigh in defeat and shake her head as she watched her friend, instead turning her attention to her own locker which coincidentally happened to be located right next to Claire’s. As she began to retrieve her books, she turned to follow Claire’s line of sight once again and frowned once her eyes connected with the boy they had just been talking about.

Lake was still staring at Claire, but his flirtatious expression had fallen once he realized her attention was no where near set on him. Instead he turned to see whom she was staring at and frowned, realizing that Jonas seemed to be the only thing she was interested in. Nonetheless, he still turned back to look at her and somehow throughout that process, locked eyes with her best friend, Mary Wang.

Mary simply pursed her lips and shrugged, shooting him an apologetic smile.

He didn’t bother to return it. Lake’s frown simply deepened, and it was clear to anyone who was paying attention that he was disappointed. He turned to look away from them and instead focused his attention back on his friends, which gave Mary the opportunity to tug on Claire’s forearm without making the exchange seem obvious to the boys ahead.

Claire turned abruptly, about to question what was going on, until Mary gestured back to the boys, a sad smile playing out on her lips. “Lake isn’t smiling anymore, Claire. He seems disappointed.”

She followed Mary’s line of vision, and for the first time that afternoon, Claire’s full attention was on the player himself. Instead of looking directly at her, he had directed his attention back to his friends and was wearing a tight frown. He simply stood there silently as his friends continued to converse with each other, none of them seeming to acknowledge his change of mood. His expression read as if he was considering one option between the other, and it confused Claire the longer she continued to stare. Instead, she watched as he moved towards Jonas and placed a hand on his shoulder, leaning in to whisper something into his ear.

It didn’t take long for Jonas to suddenly look over in her direction, connecting his eyes with hers.

Claire yelped and ducked behind the locker door before she could even read his expression. She stifled an embarrassed groan as she smacked herself in the forehead, and Mary simply snickered in response as she continued to watch the interaction. Timidly, Claire looked up at her best friend.

“What’s happening? Did he catch me staring?”

“Oh… he definitely noticed. And he’s coming this way.”

“ _What!?_ ” Claire yelped, abruptly standing to her feet and peering over the door once again. Sure enough, Jonas had excused himself from the group and was headed her way…

_And he wasn’t even wearing a shirt._

_God help her._

“Oh god,” Claire groaned, rubbing a hand over her face. “What have I done?”

“Gotten the guy you like to finally notice you, well done.” Mary snickers, patting her best friend on the shoulder as she moved to fetch the rest of her books and leave before Jonas could fully approach them. In one, slick motion, Claire watched her best friend move behind her and head for her next class, leaving Claire to only glare at the back of her head as she disappeared around the corner.

She internally groaned and covered her face with both palms. _What had she done?_

“Hey,” She removed her hands from her face the moment she heard his voice. Jonas now stood in front of her, her locker door being the only thing that separated herself from him. He was wearing a hesitant smile as he watched her, and she almost found it impossible to breath in his presence. “Claire Nunez, right?”

Her eyes widened slightly in shock, and she raised a perplexed brow. “You… you know who I am?”

He reached up to rub at the back of his neck. “Um… well, now I do. One of my mates mentioned that you were uh… well… looking at me.” He gestured to the boys behind him, cringing outwardly at his use of words, and Claire could only stare and follow to where he pointed, catching Lake’s eyes for merely a second before she was turning back to look at Jonas. “Ah… sorry, maybe I should have worded that differently. What I meant was–”

“It’s okay,” Claire smiled softly, uncertainty clouding her features. “I get it. Sorry for staring.”

She picked up her backpack by one strap before he could respond, slinging it over her shoulder. Maybe Mary was right… maybe Jonas truly was like the rest of them. Maybe he too, just like Lake, was a player. Maybe he was nothing like her fantasies and instead exactly like her worst nightmare. She slammed her locker door closed, and with a shake of her head, turned to leave…

She expected to never speak to him again, embarrassed from being caught staring.

What she didn’t expect was for him to call after her.

“ _Wait!_ ” Jonas called, and she paused unexpectedly and turned to look over her shoulder. She watched him jog towards her to close the remaining distance between them, and when he did finally reach her once again, he pulled out his phone from his back pocket. “I.. uh. You want my snap?”

Immediately, her eyes lit up and she scrambled to pull out her own phone. _Hell yeah, she wanted his snap. Was that even a trick question?_

“Cool,” he smiled as he accepted her request right in front of her own eyes. Claire could feel the multiple pairs of eyes of students who witnessed the exchange, but she’d been too busy ogling over her fantasy that was coming true to care about what others thought. “I’ll text you then.” He said, stuffing his phone back into his pocket and waving her farewell. She could only stammer out a goodbye and offer a pathetic wave as he jogged back towards his friends.

She stared for a bit longer as she watched the boys continue as if nothing had happened. Then she blinked, blinked again, and then she rubbed her eyes just to make sure this had all been apart of reality. She turned around feeling giddy inside, and with a wide smile spread across her lips, headed towards her next class.

She failed to acknowledge the prominent frown on Lake’s lips as he watched her leave.

 

* * *

 

“Shut the front door!” Darci giggled, shoving her friend’s shoulder playfully as they were all seated at their usual table during their lunch period. For a change, it was the first time Claire hadn’t been staring over at the jock’s table where Jonas was currently sitting. “Are you serious? Jonas Henderson gave you his snapchat!?”

“He did.” Claire beamed, showing one of her best friends her phone screen which displayed the texts that had already been exchanged. Since they had exchanged usernames earlier that day, Jonas had been true to his word when he said he would text her. He’d messaged her right away. And since that morning, they had been exchanging messages between one another throughout each class period.

“Aw,” Darci cooed, “that’s so cute. I’m glad you guys are finally talking.”

“Me too,” Claire smiled softly.

She looked down in her lap where her phone was nestled when another message came through, and her smile grew at the sight of what Jonas had sent her. It was a gif of someone blowing a kiss, and underneath it he had written a short message asking if she had any plans that weekend.

She immediately typed a response.

“By the way, what gave you the courage to start talking to him?” Darci asked. She reached over for her fruit punch as she waited for a response, sipping through the slightly bent straw. “I mean, just yesterday you were dreading history class because you didn’t want to be accidentally partnered with him.”

Claire turned to shoot Darci a sheepish smile. She remembered that incident all too clearly. Mr. Strickler had assigned a partnered project only yesterday, and she had been dreading whom she would be partnered with since their teacher had insisted he would be choosing everyone’s partner. Thankfully, she’d been paired with Toby Domzalski, someone who would likely do most of the work for her just to avoid any sort of conversation. As far as she knew, Toby was shy and more reserved. He preferred to keep to himself, and he rarely socialized with anyone.

As a matter of fact, she really couldn’t recall a time she _ever_ saw him talking to anyone at all.

But she knew enough to know that he was okay. Chill, even. Doing a project with him would be easy.

“Yeah… well, now that I think about it, I didn’t really do anything to catch his attention. If anything, he looked over at me the moment Lake said…” and suddenly, it all hit her. If it hadn’t been for Lake, she wouldn’t have gotten Jonas’ snapchat, therefore, their texting would have been nonexistent.

_Jonas would have never noticed her had it not been for Lake._

“Lake? As in, football jockey Lake?” Darci raised a perplexed brow. “What did he say?”

“Uh.. well, that’s the problem. I don’t know.” Claire said, turning to face her friend with the same confused expression. “When I was unashamedly staring at Jonas this morning, Lake leaned in and whispered something into Jonas’ ear. After that, he approached me and somehow knew my name.”

Darci’s expression quickly changed to amused, and she lifted her juice straw to her lips. “Are you saying that Lake – _the guy who you believe is the devil’s span himself_ – helped you get hooked up with the guy you’ve been crushing on for months?”

Conflicted, Claire turned to look over at the jock’s lunch table. Amongst them all, her eyes first fell on Jonas who was smiling widely and laughing with a few of his friends. She expected to find Lake there as well, but unfortunately, he was nowhere to be seen with his group of friends.

She raised a confused brow. _That was odd._ He was _always_ with his friends.

“Yeah… I guess you’re right.” Claire mumbled, confused.

“So… maybe you should be thanking him?” Darci suggested.

Claire’s eyes scanned the cafeteria, searching for Lake’s lean figure somewhere amongst the crowd. It was odd to find him no where in sight, and she wondered if he had even showed up to lunch at all.

She silently stood from her seat, earning a confused glance from Darci. But before her friend could question where she was going, Claire turned to shoot her a reassuring smile. “I’m just going to head outside and see if Lake is out on the field. Maybe I can catch him before he heads out to practice and thank him for his help. If Mary shows for lunch, tell her she can have my pudding.”

Darci simply nodded and Claire excused herself from her table, making her way towards the cafeteria exit. She could feel Jonas’ eyes on her as she passed his table without a word and disappeared between the double doors. He probably found it odd that she had ignored him when they’d been texting all day, but in that moment, Claire had a certain someone – _who she had probably been underestimating this entire time_ – who also deserved a thank you.

Just as she had anticipated, she found Lake alone on the bleachers in the football field. She found it peculiar that he was there all alone, and what made things even more concerning was the way he was hunched over, his head rested in between his hands and his elbows propped on his knees. His football helmet was seated next to him, and he was already dressed in his uniform.

She frowned, partly in confusion. She didn’t know him well enough to say he was troubled, but she knew from what she observed that Lake was not typically someone who _didn’t_ smile.

Claire had never spoken to him before. But with all the courage she could muster, she slowly began to ascend the steps to where he sat midway in the bleachers.

He noticed her presence the moment she was about halfway up and lifted his head to see who was approaching. The moment their eyes connected, Lake looked away for merely a second and straightened his posture, running his fingers through his hair before he looked up at her again. She paused only a few feet away from him, neither of them speaking for a matter of seconds.

Her reason being she had no idea how to start a conversation with him.

His reason, she wasn’t sure.

He waited for her to speak for a few seconds before he slouched over again, sending her a quizzical look. “Is there something you need?” He asked.

She debated on how to respond. His expression didn’t seem very friendly or welcoming as he waited for her response, and she was beginning to wonder if approaching him had been a bad idea. “I… I just wanted to thank you for earlier today.”

He raised a brow. “Thank me?”

She nodded. “Well… I’m assuming Jonas coming to talk to me was partly because of you.” Claire said, unsurely. “I saw you whisper something into his ear. Me embarrassingly staring at him, perhaps?”

She could’ve almost sworn that Lake’s expression faltered, and a look of disappointment flashed before her. But before she could question it, he was already recovering, and he offered her a soft smile that almost looked more pained than anything. “Yeah… sure. It’s whatever. No worries.”

But, she wasn’t entirely convinced.

“Are you okay?” She decided to ask, her brows furrowing slightly in concern. “You look… distressed, and I didn’t see you in lunch today. Did you skip eating?”

It was his turn to shoot her a confused look, as if her questioning his well-being wasn’t abnormal; though, everything about this situation was completely non-normal.

“I wasn’t aware that you ever looked for me.” He said.

Claire didn’t know why, but his words seemed to sting. _Did she really come off as a careless person?_

“Sorry, it just looked like you needed someone to talk to.” She said, fiddling with her thumbs nervously. In situations like these – _which were fairly few for her, thank god_ – Claire wanted nothing more than to shrink away into a black hole.

Lake chuckled dryly to that. “We never talk,” he said, “like ever.” And then he stood to his feet, brushing off his knees which were patched green from grass stains. He picked up his helmet and reached for his backpack, slinging one of the straps over his left shoulder and shooting her a look she couldn’t quite read. “Why would that change now?”

His tone wasn’t accusing, and he didn’t seem angry, but his words seemed to frustrate her. “I just thought that–”

“That what?” he interrupted in a challenging tone. “That since you talk to Henderson we should suddenly become friends? I mean, I only did you a favor, didn’t I? You’re finally talking to your dream man. Now that that’s over and done with, there’s no reason for us–” he pointed between them both, “–to associate anymore.” He then flashes her a soft smile, as if that’s supposed to assure her that everything he said was the truth. “I’m just happy to have helped.”

Claire swallowed uncomfortably, unsure of how to respond.

His body language and tone of voice spoke otherwise.

“Umm… t-thanks,” she stuttered out, because it was the only thing that came to mind.

“You're welcome,” he held his smile, even though it looked far from genuine, as he stepped past her. Claire could only watch as he began to descend the steps and head down to the field, not even once glancing over his shoulder to see if her gaze was following him. Her shoulders somewhat fell at the realization.

She wasn’t sure why. But the thought of Lake _not_ liking her was somewhat irritating.

 

* * *

 

When Claire returned to the lunch room with her shoulders sagged and eyes only focused on her own table, Jonas noticed. He was quick to excuse himself from his friends and join her side before she could make it back to sit down, and he had nothing but questions to bombard her with.

“Hey, you okay?” he asked, placing a comforting hand to her shoulder. She almost felt like shrugging off his touch, not in the mood to listen to failed attempts to try an comfort her. But she also knew that none of this was Jonas’ fault, and therefore, turned to flash him a soft, assuring smile.

“Yeah, everything’s fine.”

“You sure?”

“Positive,” she mumbled underneath her breath. “I just… needed some fresh air.”

“Where did you go?”

Abruptly, she paused to throw him an unamused look. As much as she appreciated his presence, she hadn’t known him long enough for him to be questioning wherever she went. “Look, I know you mean well, and I’m not mad at you or anything, it’s just that I got into an argument with a friend. That’s all.”

It wasn’t _entirely_ a lie. But then again it wasn’t the truth either.

Jonas released her shoulder, smiling softly. “Okay. Just wanted to make sure everything was ok. You seemed aggravated when you stormed outta here.”

She smiled in return. “Yeah, I was pretty pissed.”

He laughed softly. “I could tell.”

She giggled softly along with him, her annoyance already lifting. She turned to face him fully, smiling widely and before she could talk herself out of it, leaned in to place a delicate kiss to his cheek. Stunned, Jonas simply stared with wide eyes as she stepped back and giggled at his reaction. She didn’t stay long for him to respond, instead turning on her heel and flashing him a flirtatious smile over her shoulder. “Thank you for looking after me, Jonas.”

And then she was walking away, leaving a stunned Jonas to stand awkwardly in the middle of the cafeteria with knees that she was sure were about to buckle.

_Well, that’s what she hoped for at least._

When she finally returned to her table, Darci was staring at her with a wide smile on her lips and Mary was mid bite into a spoon of _her_ cup of pudding, eyes widened.

“What was that?” Darci asked playfully. “You making the first move? I’m proud of you girl.”

“Thanks,” Claire giggled, taking a seat in between her two friends. “It felt good being so bold.”

“Speaking of boldness,” Mary interjected, setting her now empty cup of pudding aside and shooting her best friend a curious glance. “What’s this I hear about you going to talk to football rooky, Lake? The guy you think is the worst guy to ever be placed on this planet?”

That made Claire frown. She hated that she had thought so horribly about someone who had helped her, even though he’d really known nothing about her. She still didn’t even know his first name, but maybe Lake wasn’t as bad as she made him out to be.

“I went to thank him,” Claire said, “for helping me with Jonas. It was the least I could do.”

“That was nice of you.” Mary muses.

“What’s with that smile on your face?” Claire asked accusingly, yet playfully, the moment she noticed her best friend snickering behind her soda can. Darci laughed softly as well, fully drawing in her attention. “What are you guys laughing about?”

“Nothing,” Mary assures, “it’s just that only this morning, you practically _despised_ him.”

“And now you’re talking to him.” Darci adds.

“Relax you two.” Claire chides, “He made it perfectly clear that _this_ drew the line. Besides, I’m not planning on becoming his friend.”

“Well darn,” Mary huffs, crossing her arms. “I was hoping, since you both were acquaintances now, that you could recommend me to the devilishly handsome boy.”

That erupted into a fit of laughter between the three girls. Claire shook her head playfully and smiled, returning her full attention to her unpacked lunch. She listened idly as Mary changed the topic, beginning to explain the events that had occurred with the guy she was currently talking to. Claire could only shake her head in amusement as she pulled out her sandwich, turning to fully listen into Mary’s latest line of gossip.

She was unaware of the lingering, sad eyes that watched her from the cafeteria window.

 

* * *

 

“Mr. Lake, care to explain what is going on here?”

After lunch, Claire wasn’t too surprised to find Lake with his arms wrapped around another girl. It was more surprising wondering how he was able to pull it off so quickly, and she wondered if he truly had a line of girls simply waiting to be chosen next. The blonde girl beside him simply giggled and scooted closer into his side, throwing on of her calves over his knee, and the sight made Claire want to retch.

Lake on the other hand, only seemed to be amused with the teacher’s antics. His grip around the girl’s waist tightened and he smirked up at Waltolemew Strickler, their impatient history teacher. “Nothing, sir.”

“I believe inappropriate touching between a male and a female on school grounds is prohibited,” Strickler replied tonelessly, unamused with the boy’s behavior. It was well known around the school how much trouble Lake tended to cause, and how much the teachers wished for summer to come sooner because of him. “Remove your arm from around Miss Parker so we can continue the lesson.”

“What? You call this inappropriate touching? My hand is around her waist… like a gentleman.” Lake remarked, faking innocence, and he dared to smile as if he had done absolutely nothing wrong.

The fake innocence he portrayed reminded Claire why it was a good thing they weren’t, and _never_ would be, on speaking terms. She watched him flash his innocent smile, leaning closer to whisper something into the girl’s ear. Whatever he said got her giggling, and Mr. Strickler did not seem very amused when the two students continued on with their inappropriate exchange.

“Remove your arm, Mr. Lake.” Mr. Strickler repeated.

To her surprise, Lake obeyed the second time and removed his arm from around the girl’s waist. The blonde seemed disappointed, but Claire knew that wouldn’t be the end of it. Lake was already smirking when her eyes fell on him once again, and she watched as his hand travelled downward, resting against the inner side of the girl’s thigh. Said girl even encouraged him to go further up, and the sight had Claire turning away, wishing she could be anywhere else but here to witness the exchange.

It was in moments like these when she wondered _why_ she had ever thanked him for anything.

And she wasn’t the only one who noticed the exchange either. Mr. Strickler surely did, and he was furious.

“Mr. Lake, remove your hand from there this instant!”

The rest of the students in the classroom simply watched with curiosity, a few holding back their obvious smiles, but what caught Claire’s attention the most was the look of amused glances Lake’s group of friends had to offer from the back of the classroom. She was disappointed to find that even Jonas was holding back a laugh, holding up his phone to even record the entire scene.

Claire frowned and turned back around to face the front of the classroom, her mood even more dampened. Jonas wasn’t too different from the rest of them, now was he?

She hated to admit that Mary _could’ve_ been right.

“Sorry, just thought I’d show you what _real_ inappropriate touching looks like.” Lake snickered and removed his hand shorty afterwards, earning himself an eruption of laughter from the other students of the classroom. He had a smug look on his face that Claire wished she could slap right off, and he leaned back in his seat, resting his arms above his head and soaking in all the attention he got from his peers.

Mr. Strickler didn’t even bother with a retort, instead sending his student a flat look. Then he sighed heavily and gestured to the door. “To the principal’s office with you, Mr. Lake.”

Lake simply shrugged and held his smile as he stood from his seat and slung his backpack over his shoulder, sending the pretty blonde a flirtatious wink before he was sauntering out the door, whistling as he went. Claire shook her head disappointedly as she watched him leave. Mr. Strickler should have known by now that sending one obnoxious Lake to the principal’s office would do nothing to change the boy’s attitude. Another suspension would do him no good.

What Lake needed was a reality check. Only then would his eyes be opened.

“Okay,” Mr. Strickler cleared his throat and straightened his tie. “Now that that’s over and done with, I’d like you all to switch seats and pair up with your partner. You’ll spend the rest of class going over your summaries with one another.”

Immediately, Claire stood and said goodbye to Mary as she headed for the back of the classroom where Toby Domzalski was already seated. He was mesmerized in a book he’d been reading throughout the entire period, and he hadn’t bothered to look up from it, even throughout the entire situation involving Lake and his stupidity. Toby was startled when he felt another person slide into the seat next to him, and hesitantly, looked up from his book to see who had decided to join him.

Claire smiled fondly at him. “Hey.”

Toby’s eyes scanned the classroom first before he closed his book and tucked it away, eyeing her wearily. “W-What are you doing?” He asked. “You don’t usually sit here.”

Her expression fell slightly, and she tried to hide her disappointment. Throughout high-school, Claire hadn’t been the best person to a lot of people, including Toby, and she could admit that she was once entitled in her freshman, sophomore and even junior years. But, she’d changed since then. She was different. And as much as she tried to amend her mistakes, Toby was _still_ very weary around her. “Didn’t you just hear? Mr. Strickler wanted us to switch seats with our partners, to go over the summaries we were supposed to come up with.” She said.

Toby didn’t bother to respond, instead simply shrugging and scooting over to make more room on the bench, but in all truth, Claire knew it was just to put more distance in between them. She didn’t necessarily have the right to find it offensive, considering she had once been terrible to him. She knew from years of acquaintanceship that Toby preferred to do things alone and would rather exclude himself from everyone else. Even though she was polite and nice to him _now_ , it was still just one of his odd quirks.

“So,” she cut through the tension between them when he remained silent. “I wrote a summary, but I wanted to hear what you came up with too. Our project is over the trojan horse, right?”

He still refused to meet her eyes, simply nodding and keeping his gaze trained in his lap. “Right.”

Hesitantly, Claire pulled out her notes and spread them across their desk. Once they were sorted, she turned to face him again. “Okay… so do you want to go first?”

“Actually, I had a different idea.” Toby said, and she was surprised when he actually looked up to meet her eyes and _held_ their gaze, no longer looking to cower away from her presence. Though she could tell he was still nervous, he seemed determined to get his thought across. “I was thinking that maybe you could just read my summary, see if you like it, and then I could just do the rest of the work for both our credits.”

Claire furrowed a brow. “What.. why?”

“It’s easier that way,” Toby admitted, shrugging bashfully. “besides, it means we won’t have to spend so much unnecessary time together. I’m sure you’d rather be anywhere else but here, with me.”

That stung, especially when she had spent countless times trying to amend her mistake. Claire could admit she wasn’t a perfect person, but she couldn’t claim that she had never made mistakes before. And hurting Toby in the past had been one of the biggest mistakes of her life.

“Look, I’m sorry.” Claire said, disappointedly. “I’m not who I used to be, and I know I’ve hurt you before. But I’m not here to get you do my homework for me this time. I’m actually here to work on this project with you, because we’re partners, and it’s _both_ of our assignment.”

She sighed heavily when he finally looked away, closing himself off again like he always did when he felt trapped. It was his defense mechanism, something he probably never had to use before she attended Arcadia Oaks High. “Can you at least give me a second chance to prove that I mean it?”

“I believe you, Claire.” Toby said softly, though his gaze was still concentrated in his lap. “It’s just that… it’s easier for _me_ if I did this project alone. It has literally nothing to do with you. It’s all me. I’m the oddball here.”

For a second, Claire sympathized him and wanted to assure him that he wasn’t the odd one here. But then she realized trying to convince him otherwise would be pointless, especially when _she_ had been apart of making him feel this way for years. She frowned slightly and nodded, “Okay, you can do the project alone if you really want to. But just know that I will always be willing to put in the effort to work alongside you, if you want it.”

She watched as he slowly lifted his head to look over at her again, and she was grateful when he offered her a soft, genuine smile. “Thanks,” he said. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

 

* * *

 

After their history period was over, Claire was one of the first students to escape the madness. She watched from the corner of her eye as Toby sauntered out of the classroom, keeping his books pressed protectively against his chest as he scrambled to get away from the large crowds of students that were occupying the halls. She sometimes wished that she could start over her freshmen year, just so that she could’ve made a different first impression and hopefully, become his friend.

It was sad to know that he didn’t have any.

“Hey,” Mary slung an arm over Claire’s shoulders, walking alongside her best friend. “Did you hear?”

“Hear about what?” Claire inquired, raising a curious brow.

“About the party, duh!” Mary gushed, releasing Claire so that she could instead stand in front of her, preventing her friend from leaving her sight until she got an answer. “This Friday at Lake’s house. Please tell me you’re going.”

“That’s not even something you should be asking me.” Claire replied, frowning slightly. She moved off to the side as she continued down the hall, mindfully aware that Mary’s persistent figure was following closely behind. “You already know my answer.”

“Oh, come on, Claire!” She heard Mary pout from behind. “Live a little!”

Claire rolled her eyes, continuing forward. “The answer is still no, Mar.”

Mary’s shoulders slouched, and Claire could hear the audible breath of air that left her lips as she huffed in frustration. “You always say no. I don’t think you’ve ever been to a single party throughout your entire high-school experience.”

“That’s because I have more important things to do, like keeping my marks up.” Claire retorted.

“There’s more to high-school than just grades, Claire.” Mary said, disappointment clear in her tone. She picked up her pace until she had caught up with her friend, and abruptly moved to stand in front of Claire, blocking her path. Claire huffed in frustration when she was reluctantly forced to stop. “I know having A’s is kind of important to you, but you’re going to miss out on a lot if that’s all you concentrate on. It doesn’t hurt to let lose once in a while.” Mary offered her friend a gentle smile. “I want things to work out between you and Jonas – _even though I think Lake would be a way better catch_ – but things won’t progress if you spend all your free time with your nose stuck in a book.”

Unamused, Claire titled her head to the side and rolled her eyes. That was ridiculous. _She didn’t always have her nose stuck in book._

_Did she?_

“Just think about it.” Mary insisted. “Jonas will be there, and it will give you a chance to socialize and get to know him better.”

Well, when she put it like that… Mary did have a point. Attending a party that was bound to be filled with people whom Jonas associated with, along with Jonas himself, would be a way to catch attention, and although Claire wasn’t big on drawing attention on herself, the thought of his many peers noticing her clung to his side made her feel somewhat giddy inside.

“Fine,” Claire huffed. “I’ll go. But only because Jonas will be there.”

Her friend flashed her a teasing smile. “Of course,” Mary snickered.

“And that doesn’t mean that I will be talking to Lake.” Claire pointed out, because for some odd reason, Mary’s devious smile made her feel like she had to point that out. “ _Under no circumstances_. Just because I’m going to his house, doesn’t mean we have to be civil.”

Mary held up her hands innocently, though her clever smile had yet to cease. “No one’s saying you have to talk to him.”

“Good.” Claire huffed.

Mary waved a careless hand. “Don’t worry about it anyway. I’m sure Lake will be too occupied to even notice you, so you most likely won’t even have to worry about making conversation with him.”

Her comment was meant to lighten the mood; to erase Claire’s apparent ‘anxiety’ when it came to associate with him, but for some odd reason, Mary’s words sent a pang to her heart. Claire didn’t know why, but Lake not noticing her made her wonder if she was even worth noticing. But then she simply shook her head and furrowed a brow, sending those ridiculous thoughts away.

_What kind of nonsense was that? Of course, she was worth noticing! Jonas noticed her!_

_And yet, why did it suddenly feel like not enough?_

“Right,” Claire said, because it was the only thing that seemed to come to mind. “I guess that’s comforting.”

If Mary noticed the change of mood in her best friend, she didn’t mention it. Instead she smiled widely and gave her friend a hug, bidding her farewell as she headed for the bus. She always insisted that Claire ride with her, since Darci’s parents always picked her up by car, but Claire preferred walking to and from school, even if Mary labelled it as _‘unnecessary sweating.’_ Claire shook her head and smiled to herself as she headed for the exit.

She paused however, in the middle of the hallway when she spotted Lake standing there, near the exit. Groaning in annoyance, she turned her head to the side to avoid him noticing her, wishing he’d merely move out of her way so that she could pass without any trouble and avoid any sort of interaction with him. Other students passed by her in pleasant ease, and it that moment she envied them. They didn’t have to worry about being seen by the player. Others however, flashed her odd looks as they passed, and she assumed that they were probably wondering why she stood so still in the middle of the hallway when the bell for the day had already rung. But Claire was too frozen in her place to care about what they thought. She watched as Lake smiled widely, punching the guy whom he was currently talking to in the shoulder playfully. But who he was talking to is what shocked Claire the most.

There, standing before the popular football rooky, Lake, was Toby Domzalski, and what bothered Claire the most was how at ease the boy seemed. She had spent her entire senior year trying to be a better person to him, wishing he’d forgive her for the mistake she made many years ago, and yet, the boy did nothing but avoid her and keep to himself at all costs. But now, she watched as Toby wore the biggest smile on his lips, laughing along at something Lake had said, and the boy seemed totally relaxed in front of the football player. The sight made Claire angry. Toby had dedicated everything to himself for _years_ , isolating himself from everyone and concentrating more on his marks then making friends, and now, he was dedicating his time to Lake, the one person who didn’t deserve a single second of it.

Claire watched in fury as the two boys bid their farewells with a handshake, something that looked as if it had been practiced for years. The thought boiled her mind. All this time, she had assumed that Toby had no one to lean on; no one to call his friend. She had been trying to fix that. But somehow, Lake had beaten her to it and had _succeeded!_

Suffice to say, her entire day had been nothing but _odd_.


End file.
